The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to the automated assignment of channels during the provisioning of a network infrastructure for a workload.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an information handling system (IHS). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Conventionally, the provisioning of a network infrastructure for a workload requires the manual assignment of channels, which define one or more virtual local area networks (VLANs) that are allowed on a host-facing switch port, to the appropriate switches or ports of one or more physical switches. The manual steps to assign such channels are cumbersome and difficult to maintain as changes in the environment (e.g., cabling changes, switch changes, network changes) occur. For example, conventional provisioning of network infrastructure for a workload typically begins with an administrator providing network configuration information that may include the network name, a VLAN identification, and a primary and secondary channel identifier. The administrator then creates a deployment template and affiliates networks with the deployment template. The administrator then discovers the switch and affiliates channels at the switch level or the switch port level. The administrator then triggers a server discovery that results in the discovery of the servers and the server/switch topology. A user may then make a persona deployment request from the deployment template. In response, the system will select a server based on the channel assignment on the server-facing ports and the networks affiliated with the persona, and then provision the virtual networking layer in the persona and the VLANs on the physical switch corresponding to the assigned channels. As would be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the manual configuration described above provides a time consuming process that requires significant expertise to perform and maintain.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide for improved provisioning of a network infrastructure for a workload.